Tag Archives: Picton

The drive from Picton to Wellington with the ferry Interislander on April 15 was quiet an adventure. Our ferry at nine a clock in the morning was cancelled, due to the stormy weather conditions in the Cook Strait passage between the islands. The ferry at 1:45 pm was about two hours late and we were told to expect waves between 5 and 9 meters. So it happened! Once we left the Sounds the observation deck was closed and soon after that we realized why. You would think that waves are not a big problem for such a massive and heavily loaded ship, but the sea wants the sea gets, as the Kiwis would say, and our ferry became a little bottle in the big blue ocean. When the captain made an announcement that I was not able to understand right away, because of the noise, I thought about the worst case and was wondering, if we would turn back after all these hours, but no: the captain just change the route and we arrived safely and tired in Wellington at 7 pm. Hurra!

Is the New Year that old already?!? It’s been a week… we celebrated New Years Eve with five people at Bob’s Bay. I was surprised that nobody else had the idea to make a night walk. It was an awesome view over the Bay at night, with the fireworks far away and sparkling wine, chocolate and a salsa lesson on the beach. Something different and I will always remember that night. After three weeks here in the hostel and a week in a restaurant I decided to move on and leave behind all the intimacy again. I am still looking for that place, where my gut feeling is telling me that I would like to stay and the social situation just fits all my needs. I really like Picton and will miss the view over the Bay – the picture perfect place for a hola hoop session – and the nice trails in the area.

Bob’s Bay

I will drive to Nelson tomorrow and need to figure out the rest any time soon. I would love to work on a farm for a while and woof with a family, but everything is so hopelessly booked out for the next few weeks. I am unable to plan to far in advance which makes it kind a hard here right now. I need a little interpersonal miracle to find the perfect match. Cross your fingers for me.

This post comes a little late, because I made this daytrip to Lochmara Lodge on monday Dec 22, but I don’t want to withhold this tip. Lochmara is accessible only with a water taxi and located in the Queen Charlotte Sound. It’s a beatiful little bay with a Cafe, some hiking trails and a wildlife recreation center for Kakariki birds. These birds are endangered, but still live on the outlying islands. We were allowed to feed them and it was a pleasure to see them sitting on my hand.

Kakariki Bird

Even more exciting was the meeting with a parrot that was sitting on my shoulder. There are also some nice walking paths with spectacular views, some inspiring ART sculptures, some pics, bees, chickens, free kayaks and of cause some hidden hammocks here and there. You wonder arround dreaming and you wish you could stay over night, so don’t miss Lochmara, if you have a little more time in Picton then the usual traveler who just stays for one or two nights.

I made it! The trip with the InterIslander Ferry – the one that was supposed to be very tumultuous – was in fact so beautiful and calm, that I was a little disappointed. I mean, after all the stories that I heard from other travelers about this Cook Strait passage I expected at least some strong waves, but all I got was sunshine for three hour. No seriously, the Queen Charlotte Sound is gorgeous and Picton is a beautiful little town. I don’t understand why most of the travelers just stay for one night. There are some nice hiking trails, a cute little harbor and some fine hostels in town that will help you for sure to chill out in a hammock or a Spa Pool. I started to work in the Fat Cod Hostel here and it is very nice, so I will stay over Christmas and enjoy my time. Unfortunately this hostel is located next to the train rails and I could jump out of the kitchen window and on to a train, if I would be up to do something like this. There are four Woofers here right now and we already made a cake to get into Christmas mode. The weather changes every day and we already hat two very hot days with 29 degrees and some rainy days. My waterproof jacket is in fact not waterproof at all…ergo, I need to buy a new cagoule, if I want to hike some of the trails on the west coast, but besides that inside everything is great. What else? When I walked up to the Look Out today I realized that I escaladed to mountain this year: the Brocken and Mt. Ngauruhoe. The New Year can come!

My personal impressions after 14 days in Wellington!? I have lived in 3 different hostels (expensive and not very clean), visited 3 museums (always free entry), 2 theatres, 1 cinema, the Botanic Garden, the Parliment Buildings and I went for walks a lot. I feel like I know Wellington a bit and I like it, but it is very difficult to find a job here. The Pre-Christmas-Periode was not a good time at all. Nobody is hiring until after New Years Eve and there is almost no Christmas Shopping here, because there are simply not a lot of people in this very small country. Smetimes I walk around and I wonder where all the people are actually…the streets are deserted from time to time. Some pubs and restaurants close over Christmas. Every kiwi tries to leave the town over Christmas…most of them go tramping as they would say, when asked. You probably wonder: so what is she doing in town then…well I came up with a new plan B for christmas. I will travel to Picton tomorrow to work in a hostel. Luckily they where looking for two cleaners, so Domi (the girl that I know from Auckland and met again in Wellington) decided to join me. We are excited to discover the nature of the Marlborough Sounds and to back some christmas cockies as soon as we arrive in our new home.